1. Retirement Services Outreach 2013

2. Outreach Overview Agenda Retirement Services Strategy
Review of Customer Services
Overview of Retirement Services Online
Explanation of Outreach Efforts
Review of five important things to remember

3. Retirement Services Strategy
Strategic Plan can be found at:
performance/strategic-plans/retirement- strategic-plan.pdf
Strategy to eliminate the backlogs consists of 4 Pillars
People
Productivity and Process Improvement
Partnering with Agencies
Partial, Progressive Information Technology (IT) Improvements

4. Hired Additional LAS to adjudicate cases
People
Hired Additional LAS to adjudicate cases
Brought Back Experienced, Retired LAS to help with the backlog
Added additional staff to “complete” cases before they go to a LAS
Pooled Additional Resources from other areas of OPM
People
 Bring “all hands on deck” to add claims production capacity immediately
 Hire 56 new Legal Administrative Specialists (LAS)
 Hire 20 new Customer Service Specialists (CSS)
Hiring Additional LAS to adjudicate cases
Bringing Back Experienced, Retired LAS to help with the backlog
Less than 10 retirees coming back
Boyers has 20+ current employees returning to LAS duties (temp)
DC has 20+ current employees that return to LAS duties needs bargaining
Adding additional staff to “complete” cases before they go to a LAS
Case development team-hiring an additional 20 people to do the front-end administrative work needed to complete cases so the cases can go straight to adjudication
Pooling Additional Resources from other areas of OPM

5. Productivity and Process Improvement
Successfully completed the Lean / Six- Sigma White Belt Training
Completed Adjudication Process Time Observation Simulation
FERS Processing – 9.0 cases per day processed per LAS
CSRS Processing – 8.3 cases per day processed per LAS
II. Productivity and Process Improvement
 Establish higher production standards and consider production bonuses
 Expand work hours and effective use of overtime
 Complete Lean/Six-Sigma review of the claims process
 Ensure LAS have complete cases and more time to process claims
This simulation provided baseline data for “complete case” adjudication Future State operations and surge capacity design
Numbers are not reflective of steady state conditions

6. Productivity and Process Improvement
Support Operations
Pre-Assembly Cell # 1
Sub-Assembly Cell # 2
Final Assembly Cell # 3
Interim Pay Cell # 4

7. Productivity and Process Improvement
Case Development Cell # 5
The single most important Cell to Future State operations
Case Development process improvements define steady state process flow for improved customer service and business excellence
Case Adjudication Cell # 6
Case Review Cell # 7

8. Partnering with Agencies
Case Development Team: If the development team keeps a steady flow of fully developed cases needing no additional upfront information, the adjudicator could devote more of their day to coding the calculation and processing post development actions, which will greatly improve timeliness and reduce backlogs
III. Partnering with Agencies
 Improve accuracy and completeness of incoming claims
 Involve Chief Human Capital Officers
 Provide more frequent feedback to agencies on claims deficiencies

9. Partnering with Agencies
Agency Audits/Outreach: Although RS is currently focused on reducing claims and the backlog we have also worked to increase the frequency of agency audits.
Agency Access to Electronic Images / Records-This will allow agencies to have access to imaged records within RS, enabling them to provide a more complete estimate and timelier service to the perspective annuitant.

10. Partnering with Agencies
CHCO Council RS Working Group-This allows represented agencies and RS to work together to improve the speed and accuracy of Retirement Processing by:
1.Identify ways to decrease the time & cost to review & process retirement claims & to streamline other retirement procedures resulting in the elimination of the current retirement backlog;

11. Partnering with Agencies
2.Discuss ways to leverage resources; identify & share/replicate best practices;
3.Increase the accuracy rate of audit results from application received by agencies & educating the workforce on ways to reduce documentation errors that negatively impact the retirement process.

12. Partial, Progressive Information Technology (IT) Improvements
Additional automation is vital to our success. Since previous efforts to automate the entire RS process have failed, automation of our process piece-by- piece will be the path to success of the initiative.
IV. Partial, Progressive Information Technology (IT) Improvements
 Pursue long-term data flow strategy
 Explore short-term strategy to leverage work agencies do now
 Review and upgrade systems used by LAS
In the interim, OPM’s RS and CIO are working with agencies and data providers on implementing an iterative solution that harnesses the agencies work that positions OPM to get out of the paper-pushing business to focus on quality, timeliness, and customer service.

13. Retirement Services Goal
Increase monthly claims adjudication capacity by 2000 claims per month
Eliminate Claims Backlog within
18 Months
Adjudicate 90 percent of all new claims within 60 days of receipt from the agencies
We believe that this four pillar strategy will increase monthly claims adjudication capacity by
as much as 2,000 claims per month and by as much as 5,000 claims when new
staff members are fully trained. This will eliminate the claims backlog within 18 months and
allow RS to adjudicate 90 percent of all new claims within 60 days of receipt from the agencies.

14. Retirement Services Statistics
Current Stats can be found at
rementProcessingStatus.pdf
Currently we, along with most of the government, are in a hiring freeze.
We have completed the first year (calendar year 2012) of our strategic plan, highlights include
55% reduction in pending claims workload
50% reduction in lump sum workload
49% reduction in service credit/redeposit workload
17% reduction in COB workload
We have experienced an unusually large beginning of year surge this year due to the USPS early out offerings.
January –March 2013 we received 52,000 retirements as opposed to 35,000 during the same time frame in 2012.
Our staff is doing an amazing job working through the surge putting in any overtime hours to get cases completed timely. RS has completed 15,000 cases in each of the last 2 months, as well as 12,500 in January.
We have also been working with agencies to improve the quality of retirement application submissions through our monthly Agency Audit.
Audit information and processing updates are posted on the 5th of each month to the OPM website
Average Processing Timeframes
Retirement Claims:
CSRS – weeks
FERS – weeks
Interim Pay – days
Survivor Claims:
CSRS – 4-6 weeks
FERS – 8-10 Weeks
Survivor Express/Interim Pay – days
6-7 weeks
Correspondence/Mail
4-5 weeks

15. Key Improvements
Improve automated data feeds to reduce the percentage of cases requiring manual interim pay and to include data related to the annuity supplement benefit on FERS retirements
Promote standardization among all HR and payroll providers
Create task teams within HR and Payroll offices to expedite development issues relating to pending retirement claims

16. Key Improvements
Improve customer service by creating a first call resolution area and reduce the number of calls being misdirected to Operations (Tier 2 RIO)
Process all clerical and development work on pending claims prior to being assigned to an adjudicator, keeping a steady supply of “complete cases” going to the adjudicators

17. Key Improvements
Reduce the percentage of cases needing a Full or Cursory review to increase output and reallocate those resources to process pending retirement claims
Identify staffing outside Claims 1 & 2 that can adjudicate on regular time and overtime.
Contact retirees that have retired in the last year to be re-employed and have an immediate impact without training ramp up time

18. Key Improvements
Implement Rapid Improvement Events (REI’s) from lean 6 sigma continuous improvement initiative
Successful completion of Lean / Six-Sigma White Belt Training
OPM Team has adapted to this learning very well and has shown open willingness to apply CPI concepts on a daily basis
Completed Adjudication Process Time Observation Simulation
FERS Processing – 9.0 cases per day processed per LAS
CSRS Processing – 8.3 cases per day processed per LAS
This simulation provided baseline data for “complete case” adjudication Future State operations and surge capacity design
Numbers are not reflective of steady state conditions
Support Operations Future State Design Pilot
Pre-Assembly Cell # 1
Sub-Assembly Cell # 2
Final Assembly Cell # 3
Interim Pay Cell # 4
Case Development Cell # 5
The single most important Cell to Future State operations
Case Development process improvements define steady state process flow for improved customer service and business excellence
Case Adjudication Cell # 6
Case Review Cell # 7

19. Retirement Services Workloads
Retirement Claims
95,000
Survivor Claims
80,000
Refund and Deposit Claims
24,000
Phone Calls (RIOs)
1,800,000
287,000
Written Correspondence
281,000
Address Change Requests
276,000
Post Retirement Change Requests
135,000
Retirement File Services
900,000
These numbers represent Retirement Services workloads
$6 Billion paid out a month in retirements and survivor annuities

20. Customer Services Customer services Phone calls (RIOs) 1,800,000
287,000
Written correspondence 281,000
Address Changes ,000
Walk-in service ,000

21. Customer Services Retirement Information Office (Call Center)
Customer Walk-in Area located in the Theodore Roosevelt Building in Washington, DC
Correspondence Office
Written letters s
Faxes
Refund/Deposit Office

22. Customer Services Staff- 155 (Hiring an additional 27)
Retirement Information Office - 83
Correspondence - 45
Refund/Deposit – 17
Management - 10
Contractor Staff (overflow)
36 employees
Hours of Operation are 7:30am until 8:00pm Eastern Time

23. Customer Services Our strategy Provide multiple channels
Telephone
Fax
Website
One contact resolution
Proactive informative service

24. Customer Services Improvement actions
Hired and trained additional staff
Purchased and implemented new quality assurance technology
Updated the call messaging system to provide a longest waiting call message
Provided informational messages through the phone system
Evaluated performance goals

25. Retirement Services Online Visit https://www.servicesonline.opm.gov
Get your personalized retirement information and make changes online
All you need is a computer, your Claim number, and Password
To request a Password, please call us at , us at or use Retirement Services Online to make your request

26. Retirement Services Online Visit https://www.servicesonline.opm.gov
What can you do?
View annuity statement
Change mailing address
Sign up for direct deposit of your payment
Update address
Change Federal and State Income Tax withholding
View/Print/Request a duplicate Form 1099-R for the current tax year and two previous years
Change Password
Request a new password
Establish an allotment to an organization
Set up a checking or savings allotment
Will be adding this year the option to receive your password by and status viewer so that those retiring can see the status of their retirement package. Will also be adding Life Insurance information in the future.

27. Services Online Home Page
Draw Users attention to system message.

28. Services Online Customer Log In
Claim Number A
PIN/Password
Make sure you emphasize the 4 things about this page.
Payment Schedule
02/01/2011
Forgot Claim Number or Password

29. Services Online Main Menu
Annuity Statement

30. Services Online

31. Three ways to Access Services Online
Main OPM web site:
Main Retirement Information and Services web site --- Quick Links section:
Direct web address:

32. Retirement Services Outreach
Attend NARFE Conferences/Chapter Meetings
Focus groups with retirees
Pamphlets available
RI Take control of your retirement
RI – Life Events and Your Retirement and Insurance Benefits (For Annuitants)

33. Going Green
In an effort to “go-green” and reduce paper consumption, OPM started two initiatives
In 2009, we began collecting annuitants’ addresses.
In 2010, you received an open season notification which included a web site and telephone number to request health plan brochures, make enrollment changes, perform other open season transactions and obtain other health benefits information.
Although OPM is not prepared to send all information to annuitants via at this time, we want to begin the process of capturing the addresses to ensure we have as many on record as possible when the time comes to make the change to using as an alternative form of transmitting information to the annuitant.

34. Going Green
United States Department of the Treasury implemented “Go Direct” effective March 1, 2013
You can find more information about this initiative at:
U.S. Treasury Requires Electronic Federal Benefit Payments
If you still receive a paper check for your Social Security or other federal benefit payments, you are out of compliance with the law. The Treasury Department requires federal benefit payments to be made electronically.
Switch to Electronic Payments Today!
You can choose to get your payments by direct deposit to a bank or credit union account or to a Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card account. Sign up by contacting the U.S. Treasury Electronic Payment Solution Center at (800) You may also sign up for direct deposit online or at your local bank or credit union.
If you do not comply, the Treasury Department will contact you directly and may send you a Direct Express® card.
Exceptions will be granted in rare circumstances. Find out if you qualify.
If you already receive your federal benefit payments electronically, you do not need to take any action.
Direct Express Card
Contact Information
Have not enrolled for a Direct Express® Card yet?
To sign up for the Direct Express® card, please contact the enrollment center between the hours of 7:00 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST Monday thru Friday.
Card Enrollment Center:
Already have a Direct Express® card?
For all questions related to the Direct Express® card, cardholders should call:
Customer Service:
Hearing impaired:
International: (Collect)
Enroll Now - Visit
An overview, common questions, and more information about the Direct Express Card is available at the Financial Management Service (FMS) website. FMS is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury.

35. Going Green
Everyone getting the following federal benefits by paper check were switched to electronic payments – direct deposit to a bank or credit union account or to the Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card:
Social Security
Supplemental Security Income
Veterans Affairs
Railroad Retirement Board
Office of Personnel Management
Department of Labor (Black Lung)

36. Five Important Things to Remember
Keep your mailing address and address updated with OPM
Keep your designations of beneficiary updated

37. Retirement Operations Center Boyers, PA
Houses the files of our retirees and survivors
Piled one on top the other, our 21,000+ filing cabinets, would be more than four times the height of Mount Everest

38. Five Important Things to Remember
Report the death of your spouse to OPM
Report a marriage after retirement to OPM
Make sure your family knows who to contact in the event of your death

39. Contact Us
Web:
Telephone
TTY

40. Manager, Benefits Officers Liaison and Development
Contact Information
Sharon K. Appel
Manager, Benefits Officers Liaison and Development
Retirement Services
ext 3127